Parth Ghorpade and Vishnu Prasad dominate Round 5 of Polo Cup

Walking into the Chennai Track (MMST) at the eve of the fifth round was frankly quite overwhelming. The euphoria that one would expect after the start of the race seemed in full motion hours before the start of Round 5. The drivers, technicians, ground staff and other JK Tyre personnel were all gearing up for what was going to be one of the most crucial races in the inaugural tour-car championship that began at the end of May this year.

Adding to that the glamour quotient was Bollywood Actress Gul Panag gracing the event with not just her pretty face, but by competing for the very first time in an all exclusive VW Polo Women's Race in Round 5 of the championship.

Race 1

Broken bumpers and missing skirts were in abundance in Race 1 of the 5th round. From the word go the 1.6L diesel dynamos appeared in 'destruction derby' mode with some not so gentle nudging commencing shortly after the start of the first race. Sectors C2 and C3, the first set of consecutive sharp turns saw a number of participants damaging their rear bumpers and in some cases much much more.

Before the start of the first race it was Sailesh Bolisetti who was leading the championship with a healthy lead of 21 points over Kolhapur's, Parth Ghorpade. But Parth’s impressive run in the qualifiers secured him the pole position in race 1, and this coupled with some over-pressured tyres on Sailesh’s car pushed him lower down the order, a gap he was unable to make up in the course of completing Race 1.

The prodigal teenager once again thrilled spectators with his impeccable driving that allowed him to maintain his marginal lead over Sahil Shelar right till the very end and win the 1st race of Round 5. The talented racer finished the 12-lap race in just 00:25:13.138, covering a total distance of 44.4 kilometers. Sahil Shelar came in behind Parth with a difference of a negligible 0.4 sec. In third place was Chennai’s very own Vishnu Prasad. Parth's victory in the first race gave him an immediate 12 point lead over Sailesh Bolisetti, who came in at a disappointing No 7. in Race 1.

Race 1 winners
1st - Parth Ghorpade - 00.25.13.138
2nd - Sahil Shelar - 00.25.13.619
3rd - Vishnu Prasad - 00.25.15.783

 Race 2

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After missing out on much of the live action in Sector C2 and C3 I decided to relocate my vantage point for the second race. And boy was that rewarding!!! The race initially went on in a far more orderly fashion as compared to the animated first one. But eventually parts began to fall and tyres began to burn and one of the contestants (Vikash Anand) even managed to skid off the track between C2 and C3 right before us, and landed in damp grassy patch unable to get his car to budge thereafter.

After overtaking Parth in the first few laps, Vishnu Prasad managed to maintain his lead and ended up winning the race with a 1.476 time difference over his rival from Kolhapur. Surprisingly it was Guest Driver Dhruv Behl who in his very first Polo Cup race this season managed to tail Parth and Vishnu, overtaking Sailesh Bolisetti in the process to secure third place in Race 2.

Vishnu Prasad commenting on his win, said, "With the season almost over, my goal is to get back into the top 3 of the championship standings. I had a good start today and it feels great to be on the podium."

Race 2 winners
1st - Vishnu Prasad - 00.25.18.816
2nd - Parth Ghorpade - 00.25.20.292
3rd - Dhruv Behl - 00.25.20.854

Special Ladies Polo Cup Race

The ladies special Polo Cup race was the finale to Sunday's array of races. Ace-rallyist Nawaz Sandhu thrilled spectators to win the 7-lap all ladies Special Polo Cup race with a best lap time of 1:14.623, at a speed of 178.5 km/h. Along with Sandhu, popular Indian racers Sarika Sherawat and Anita Kholay also completed the top 3.Bollywood actor Gul Panag also participated in the race, but with little success.

Speaking about her experience of racing in the Polo Cup, Gul Panag expressed, "I think Volkswagen has done a tremendous service to Motorsports in India by encouraging women to come forward and race. The whole ethos and spirit of the race gels beautifully with the character I am playing in 'Turning 30', who incidentally is a racer at heart and always wants to win."

Ladies Polo Race winners:
1st - Nawaz Sandhu- 00:08:55.345
2nd - Sarika Sherawat- 00:09:24.061
3rd - Anita Kholay- 00:09:27.073

Round 5 of the 2010 Volkswagen-JK Tyre Polo Cup India was a complete spectator's delight. With some visible changes in the overall championship standings, the last and final round (Round 6) once again in Chennai from the 18th – 19th of December will have the top contenders racing for the highest stakes and for the first ever Polo Cup India Championship title.

Championship standings after Round 5 of Polo Cup India 2010